Los Angeles daily herald., 1887-11-23

the construction Of sections 8, A, and5
Of the act of March 3rd, 1887, passed
to provide for the adjustment of land
grants made by Congress to al in
construction of railroads and for the
forfeiture of unearned land and other
purposes, is made public tonight.
The opinion is given in reply to .
question asked by the Secretary of the
Interior
| THE OPINION,
In substance, is as follows:
The first section of the act named
directs the adjustment of the grants.
The second section provides for the
restoration of the title to the United
States where lands have been errone-
ously certified or patented to the rail-
roads.
The third section is: "That if ON
the adjustment of said grants it shall
appear that the homestead or pre-em-
ton entry of any bona fide settler has
been enormously cancelled on account
of any railroad grant or the with
drawal Of public lands from the mar
ket, each settler upon application
shall be reinstated in all his rights,
and allowed to perfect his entry by
complying with the public land laws,
provided that he has not located an
other claim, or made entry in lieu of
| the one SO enormously cancelled and
tarily abandon the second orixinal
IL :
any of said settlers do not renew their
application to be reinstated within q
reasonable time, to be fixed by the
Secretary of the Interior, then all
such unclaimed lands shall be dis
posed of under the public land laws,
with priority of right given to bona
| fide purchasers of said unclaimed
land, if any, and if there be no such
purchaser, then to the bonafide SET
tiers residing thereon"
THE QUESTION SUBMITTED
Under this section was: "What class
of purchasers is referred to by the ex-
preston, bona fide purchaser of such
unclaimed lands ?"
The rights of several classes to the
land referred to in the section are
stated therein.
The first in right is the homestead
or pre-emption settler, whose entry
has been wrongfully cancelled. If he
elects to assert his rights, and has not
been disqualified by locating another
claim or making another entry in lieu
of that enormously cancelled, his are
the absolute and successive rights,
and the remaining two classes cannot
attack if he lawfully asserts his claim.
If he fails to claim the land or is dis
qualified under the act, the second
class OF persons who are bona fide pur-
chasers of the land unclaimed have
preference over the third class. The
bona-fide purchasers here referred
to are those who, without knowl-
edge OF wrong or error, have
company lands which have. been
previously entered by pre-emptionl or
homestead by settler, whose entry
has been enormously cancelled, and
which land the pre-emption or home
stead settler did not elect to claim
after the recovery by the proceedings
prescribed by the second section Of
the act.
THE SECOND QUESTION
Was: "Can the Department, after
the adjustment of the grant, issue q
patent to the purchasers of such land
before the said land has been recon
veyed by the road or the title recov-
cred by judicial proceedings ?"
In reply to this, the Attorney Gem
eral says: Until the lands shall have
been legally determined to belong to
the United States, the right to issue
patents under the fourth section does
not arise. If the patents should be
issued under the fourth section before
the re-conveyance or judicial recovery
under the second, and proceedings
should be instituted to cancel the pat
ent issued to the railway, in case of q
decision adverse to the Government
the two patents would be outstanding
at the same time for the same land.
AS TO INDEMNITY LAND.
The fifth section Of said act provides
that where a railroad company has
sold lands not conveyed to the use of
such company, and where such lands
are for any reason excepted from the
operation of said company, it shall be
lawful for bona fide purchaser there
OF from said company to make pay
ment to the United States for said
land, and thereupon patent shall be
issued unto said bona-fide purchaser.
The question submitted under this
section is whether the proviso last
quoted is confirmed in its application
to lands within the primary granted
limits, or whether it applies to lands
within the indemnity limits of which
the company has made selection but
which has not been approved. The At
torney General says that the first sec
ton Of the act in the use of the word
| grant" must have necessarily includ-
ed both primaryand indemnitylimits in
adjustment, as it was doubtless in
tended that the adjustment should be
q full and final one. The protection
afforded and the redress granted the
settler by each of the sections is fully
as important in indemnity as In
primary limits, in order that the REM
edy may be adequate to redress the
wrong. The word grant" in the
fifth section must be construed to in
clude, as it does in the preceding sec
!; tions, both primary and indemnity
limits.
LAMAR's AcrroY.
Upon receipt OF the opinion, Secre-
tary Lamar directed the Commits
|. sioner of the Land Office to proceed at
, once and with as much dispatch -
possible to adjust all land grants
under the act of March Sd.
single sculls.
BosroN, November 22.-John Nc
Kay of Halifax, defeated Peter Con-